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42nd Street flyover opens

Links SR 200 and Maricamp

People stand around and talk after the unveiling of the corridor name dedication of the Southwest 42nd Street Flyover Ribbon-cutting Ceremony for the project that goes over I-75 Thursday morning, December 6, 2012. The road officially opened Thursday after the ceremony. Completed three months ahead of schedule, by Reddick based Commercial Industrial Corp., the project will provide traffic relief at State Road 200 and I-75 and easier access to the 31st Street corridor.

Published: Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 3:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 3:45 p.m.

With a blast of her horn and a friendly wave to dozens of local dignitaries, some of them still gathered in the middle of the street, a motorist in a gold Saturn inaugurated the long-awaited Southwest 42nd Street overpass.

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Crossing over Interstate 75 on a sunny Thursday morning, that driver punctuated not only the formal ceremony opening the road to traffic but also the vision local officials expressed almost a quarter-century ago to improve mobility around Ocala.

At the event, county officials celebrated the completion of the south Ocala loop that finally links State Road 200 to Maricamp Road.

At $19.8 million, the 1.5-mile segment of 42nd Street west of Trinity Catholic High School was the biggest contemporary road project in Marion County.

It also was the culmination of an idea that dates to 1991, when the Ocala-Marion County Transportation Organization, or TPO, voted to four-lane Southeast 31st Street as an initial step in eventually building a beltway around the city.

County Commission Chairwoman Kathy Bryant recalled for the audience how she and other drivers once had to navigate County Road 475 and other southern by-ways to avoid the congestion on SR 200.

Those days are now gone, Bryant added, thanks to one of the "most significant transportation improvements" in recent memory, whose central feature is the bridge over I-75.

"This is truly a great day for Marion County, and a great project for the city and county to have worked on together," Bryant said. "This is going to make cross-connectivity from the east side of our county to the west side of our county a lot easier."

In an interview, Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn agreed.

Guinn noted the project is expected to redirect 30 percent of the current traffic on Southeast-Southwest 17th Street — which is now traversed by about 34,000 cars a day.

SR 200 between I-75 and Southwest 17th Street now carries about 45,000 cars a day.

Southwest 42nd Street is anticipated to handle up to 20,000 cars a day, pulling from SR 200 as well as 17th Street.

"I'm excited to see how that's going to transpire," Guinn said.

"I think it'll be fantastic. I think the community will love it. And I think it'll be a great asset to retailers on the west side, and what a perfect time to do it," he added.

Southwest 42nd Street was the last leg of a six-part venture that started in May 1999, when the city first authorized the widening of Southeast 31st Street for the half-mile section between Lake Weir Avenue and 19th Avenue.

Since then, the city and the county, using a combination of funding sources, have spent $66.8 million to complete the 8.1-mile route tying SR 200 to Maricamp Road, just east of 36th Avenue.

Greg Slay, executive director of the TPO, told the crowd that the road has six different designations as it winds from one endpoint to the other.

The bridge itself is actually along Southwest 43rd Street.

To clear up the confusion local officials have christened the whole corridor as Osecola Boulevard.

Nardin Derias, a senior at Vanguard High School and one of four local students picked for an ad hoc committee tasked with naming the road, noted for the audience that the highway cuts through the heart of where the legendary 19th-century Seminole war chief lived most of his life.

As part of the event, officials unveiled a brown highway sign adorned with a portrait of Osceola. Those signs will be positioned at various points along the route.

Assistant County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes also recognized the efforts of the contractor, Reddick-based Commercial Industrial Corp., or CIC, which almost exclusively relied on local workers and materials.

CIC finished the project three months ahead of schedule and about $200,000 under budget.

Marion County paid the costs for rights of way and construction, while the city covered the design of the project and will maintain the road.

<p>With a blast of her horn and a friendly wave to dozens of local dignitaries, some of them still gathered in the middle of the street, a motorist in a gold Saturn inaugurated the long-awaited Southwest 42nd Street overpass.</p><p>Crossing over Interstate 75 on a sunny Thursday morning, that driver punctuated not only the formal ceremony opening the road to traffic but also the vision local officials expressed almost a quarter-century ago to improve mobility around Ocala.</p><p>At the event, county officials celebrated the completion of the south Ocala loop that finally links State Road 200 to Maricamp Road.</p><p>At $19.8 million, the 1.5-mile segment of 42nd Street west of Trinity Catholic High School was the biggest contemporary road project in Marion County.</p><p>It also was the culmination of an idea that dates to 1991, when the Ocala-Marion County Transportation Organization, or TPO, voted to four-lane Southeast 31st Street as an initial step in eventually building a beltway around the city.</p><p>County Commission Chairwoman Kathy Bryant recalled for the audience how she and other drivers once had to navigate County Road 475 and other southern by-ways to avoid the congestion on SR 200.</p><p>Those days are now gone, Bryant added, thanks to one of the "most significant transportation improvements" in recent memory, whose central feature is the bridge over I-75.</p><p>"This is truly a great day for Marion County, and a great project for the city and county to have worked on together," Bryant said. "This is going to make cross-connectivity from the east side of our county to the west side of our county a lot easier."</p><p>In an interview, Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn agreed.</p><p>Guinn noted the project is expected to redirect 30 percent of the current traffic on Southeast-Southwest 17th Street — which is now traversed by about 34,000 cars a day.</p><p>SR 200 between I-75 and Southwest 17th Street now carries about 45,000 cars a day.</p><p>Southwest 42nd Street is anticipated to handle up to 20,000 cars a day, pulling from SR 200 as well as 17th Street.</p><p>"I'm excited to see how that's going to transpire," Guinn said.</p><p>"I think it'll be fantastic. I think the community will love it. And I think it'll be a great asset to retailers on the west side, and what a perfect time to do it," he added.</p><p>Southwest 42nd Street was the last leg of a six-part venture that started in May 1999, when the city first authorized the widening of Southeast 31st Street for the half-mile section between Lake Weir Avenue and 19th Avenue.</p><p>Since then, the city and the county, using a combination of funding sources, have spent $66.8 million to complete the 8.1-mile route tying SR 200 to Maricamp Road, just east of 36th Avenue.</p><p>Greg Slay, executive director of the TPO, told the crowd that the road has six different designations as it winds from one endpoint to the other.</p><p>The bridge itself is actually along Southwest 43rd Street.</p><p>To clear up the confusion local officials have christened the whole corridor as Osecola Boulevard.</p><p>Nardin Derias, a senior at Vanguard High School and one of four local students picked for an ad hoc committee tasked with naming the road, noted for the audience that the highway cuts through the heart of where the legendary 19th-century Seminole war chief lived most of his life.</p><p>As part of the event, officials unveiled a brown highway sign adorned with a portrait of Osceola. Those signs will be positioned at various points along the route.</p><p>Assistant County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes also recognized the efforts of the contractor, Reddick-based Commercial Industrial Corp., or CIC, which almost exclusively relied on local workers and materials.</p><p>CIC finished the project three months ahead of schedule and about $200,000 under budget.</p><p>Marion County paid the costs for rights of way and construction, while the city covered the design of the project and will maintain the road.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>